CHICAGO -- Storm coach Brian Agler called Sue Bird the league MVP before Thursday's game, and Swin Cash called her the "best point guard in the world" during a boisterous postgame scene.

Bird insists she's not doing anything differently without reigning league MVP Lauren Jackson, but her play says otherwise.

The point guard turned in a spectacular 13-point fourth quarter to fuel a comeback as the Storm clinched its fifth consecutive playoff berth with a rousing 70-62 victory over the Chicago Sky.

Bird said "nothing has changed at all" before Thursday's finale of a three-game road trip, even though she averaged 22.3 points in the Storm's first three games after the Olympic break with Jackson out for the year. She was right for most of this night as the Storm trailed through the first three quarters against a Sky team that was 3-0 since the break.

It all changed in the fourth quarter as Camille Little had a three-point play and Bird drained a 3-pointer -- her first of the game -- for the Storm's first lead at 54-52 with 8:57 left. With the score tied at 56-56, Bird added 10 points and an assist in a 14-6 run to close the game.

"I don't know. I swear it's nothing different than what I've done all year," said Bird as she was playfully tapped on the head by Cash outside a giddy Storm locker room after the game.

The Sky successfully trapped Bird for most of the night, getting the ball out of her hands and building a double-digit lead. Bird scored only six points on only seven shots through three quarters, but went 5-for-5 from the field in the fourth.

"Sue was persistent with her play. She didn't let a couple things get to her a little bit," Agler marveled. "She's as smart a player as I've ever been around."

That persistence resulted in Bird's keeping the ball in her hands despite the constant defensive attention. Her 3-pointer with 5:50 left gave the Storm a 59-56 lead before she added two more go-ahead baskets. The last one came after a resounding block by Yolanda Griffith on Chicago's Candice Dupree led to a run-out in which Bird pulled up for a 3 that made it 64-62 with more than three minutes left.

And although Bird continues to reject the idea she's anything but the consummate team player, she had a hand in the Storm's final 14 points except Cash's basket that capped the scoring with 24 seconds remaining.

"There's no doubt that if you can have a microphone on Brian and you were playing a drinking game and you drank every time he said, 'Sue, keep the ball in your hands,' you'd be wasted by the time the game was over," she said. "He's constantly telling me 'keep the ball in your hands' every time I pass -- 'keep the ball in your hands.'

"And I know it's just because hopefully I can make things happen for my team. And I'm sure part of that, the reason that he's telling me that is so I'll be more aggressive offensively and it's working out."

The Storm is now a league-best 20-10 as it moved a half-game ahead of San Antonio for first place in the West. It improved to 6-0 all-time against the Sky. This win was far from easy.

Chicago used a red-hot Jia Perkins (22 points) and the imposing presence of Olympian Sylvia Fowles to lead by as many as 12 points in the first half. The Storm finished the half with four assists and 16 turnovers, but managed to stay within 34-29.

"At halftime, we were talking about how lucky we were that we were only down five because the way we played. It could've been a lot worse," Bird said.

PLAYOFF TICKETS: Single-game tickets for the Storm's first home playoff game at KeyArena will go on sale Saturday after the game against the Minnesota Lynx (approximately 9 p.m.). Tickets start at $14 and will be available online at storm.wnba.com, at KeyArena's East Box Office and at the Sonics & Storm Team Shop.